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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. spell — letters
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — a trace
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. spell — a short time
  15. squash — the sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. spell — magic

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com